Doom & Destiny

Yes, I’m a JRPG fan. I know in some circles that can get you labeled a loser, but for some reason I just love their over-wrought, bat-shit insane story lines and stock characters with predictable twists. Even when they change-up the formula by making the game action-based and mixed with, say, Disney characters, I’m just charmed as hell by them. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they’re the be-all, end-all of gaming or anything. In fact, I think anyone who would have the audacity to call Final Fantasy VII the greatest game of all time really needs to be drowned in a bucket of rancid steer semen.

So yea, I love to play RPGs, but they rarely withstand the test of time. They’re a one-and-done experience. Once you’ve beaten the game, that’s really it. I’ve never once played one that I would want to ever play again by the time it’s over. I know some people who brag that they’ve beaten Chrono Trigger ten times. I would say beating it twice would qualify you as a waste of flesh. Ten times? Wow, you are a deluxe king-sized loser with extra loser sauce. You might as well hack off your own balls because obviously you’ll never need them, and why risk the testicular cancer if that’s the case? Anyway, RPGs have gotten better since the days of the Super Nintendo. You have a greater degree of control over the fights, there’s more customization, and the plots are even a little better. In general. Okay, maybe not, but the other two points are true. Mostly.

A newly made SNES-style RPG in 2011 seems silly to me. I did enjoy both Breath of Death VII and Cthulhu Saves the World (who didn’t?) but I wouldn’t call them anything special. They are what they are. And so is Doom & Destiny, the latest game in the increasingly irrelevant 2011 Indie Game Summer Uprising. Playing it felt like playing one of those Final Fantasy III ROM-hacks where someone alters all the dialog in a way they consider witty.

It’s a parody game, one that is completely devoid of any coherent plot. You play as four RPG-loving dudes who are teleported into a patchwork of video game and/or movie satires and have wacky adventures. The game got off to a rough start by giving us four characters that are completely unlikable in every way imaginable. Instead of being funny, they’re annoying. The banter amongst them is rarely tolerable, like a geeky version of The View.

But, to the game’s credit, there are some genuinely funny moments. I wasn’t hugely into the parodies of Legend of Zelda (never seen a game do that before) or Super Mario Bros. (yawn) but some of the gags are good for a hearty chuckle. The script does a serviceable job of helping you to forget that the game has no plot and characters that could generously be described as total douchebags.

As for the gameplay, um, what can I say? Combat is completely turn based with nothing resembling action to speak of. Pick an option off a menu, watch your character act it out. Any criticism I could make would apply to any game of this genre. If you found the combat in games like Final Fantasy VI to be boring, you’ll find this to be equally as boring. Likely more actually. I mean this is 2011 now. Games have come so far, and yet Doom & Destiny is firmly grounded in it’s mid-90s style with no attempts of anything resembling modern game play.

If you can deal with that, you likely will enjoy Doom & Destiny. It looks and sounds generic, and I never could shake the whole “it could be a ROM-hack” feeling. But I can put up with this type of game because it’s something I grew up on. I did enjoy it a little. I felt it was too long at about ten-to-twelve hours for a parody game, but I guess RPGs sell on the basis of having lengthy quests with more padding then a prepubescent school girl’s bra on her first day of 7th grade. And sometimes the game really did manage to tickle my funny bone, like when the retard brigade was oblivious to the motives of someone who just joined their party by the name of Judas. Of course he was going to betray them! What else is someone named Judas going to do, besides sing You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’?

In fact, that’s the best praise I can give to Doom & Destiny. When I’ve seen Xbox Live Indie Games try to be funny, the script writer’s idea of humor usually centers around endlessly quoting lines from movies or games, or just adding lots of swearing. Doom & Destiny does have those elements, but it doesn’t rely solely on them. That’s probably a good thing too, because when it uses those tactics, it gets a bit cringe worthy. But it also peppers in situational humor and slapstick with the movie lines and swearing. Guess what? It all blends well together. While the game play is tired, the dialog is pretty dang entertaining. Not to sound clichéd but if you like JRPGs you’ll like this one. If you don’t like JRPGs, Doom & Destiny will be about as exciting as getting a lecture on knitting while watching a slide show on synchronized swimming and eating rice cakes.

The game was produced and written by Italians, which explains the spelling and grammar errors. I noticed a few but it never really bothered me that much. As far as the reputation of the Uprising, this whole thing has been a joke since the first game launched, so I don’t even care anymore. The guys who selected the 8 games have no taste at all.

If nothing else, Doom & Destiny was at least playable and I did have a good time with it. But I actually think most gamers will hate it judging by the feedback I’m getting, I guess I was wrong about JRPG fans liking it by and large as well.

Huge JRPG fan, and I loved every minute of it. A lot of dedication went into the game and I can tell. Sure it is RPG Maker, they admit that openly. They did not have to waste time making graphics. The fact that our only arguement against it sucking is grammar I have to assume you are an english teacher.

And the Uprising is kind of a joke. Raventhorne? Seriously? Battle High getting an update counts? Don’t tell game reviewers and gamers that the Uprising is a joke, we all get it.

Although the only JRPGs I ever really cared about where Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Grandia and, lately, Eternal Sonata, I did enjoy DOOM & DESTINY quite a lot. Sure, there were spelling errors but I liked the overall idea and humor of rpg dudes getting trapped in the world of their gamemaster. Not that this is something terribly new but it was executed well enough for me. Plus, the obvious in-game references to the “other D&D” struck a chord with me since I play and like this “other D&D” outside the video screen.

I usually find JRPGs tedious – I made a special exception for Lost Oddsey due to the art design, and it still dragged a lot. My wife likes them though and I bought this for her, and she’s steadily working through it. It does seem more like a demo for RPGmaker tool though – if you haven’t played any other RPGmaker games the assets look decent and the combat system solid, but if you have it probably looks like yet-another-generic-rpg (and without a solid narrative to make you overlook that).

I feel like the level system was a step above usual JRPGs.The fact that it isn’t random leveling adds a huge sense of freedom to the game. It is your fault if Francis’ Attack isn’t that high, and you have to work around your decisions

I am a 230 lb guy who was the star left tackle for highschool football team and I love RPG indie games. I actively play magic and all of my friends are what most consider nerds… Fortunately nobody will make fun of you when someone my size is standing at ur side. I am having trouble with the four robes in d&d if someone could help it would be apriciated

the 4 orbs in Destiny castle?
One is in the ball room, one is in the east side of the castle, 1st floor, in a closet in a bedroom, another one at the second floor, east side, where you have to match the forniture to advance 😉

This is a horrible review of a great game. It is the kind of game I wish I saw in the NES and SNES generation of games: funny dialogue to contrast the typical seriousness of the action. It’s hilarious how the monsters, humans, and animals all say these incredibly insulting things as they attack. It is a funny RPG, and that it has the same feel of those early NES/SNES games is great.

The review, in addition to its hypocritical ranting, totally misses the great points of this game. It reads like the reviewer

The game has had a lot of patching since I reviewed this over a year ago and I believe a lot of those things are new additions. I have Doom & Destiny ranked #65 out of 329 Xbox Live Indie Games I’ve played, so I hardly hated it.

Guys, the gramatical errors are JOKES on bad translating. You’re all sounding rather pretentious complaining about them so much. Also the comment someone made about it ‘being on the developer’…………….Wow………OK…………Here’s your crown ‘Soapbox Sadie’.

I’ve always loved RPGs. And I have a lot of the complaints about them in general as the reviewer here. Tedious combat, tired stories, cliche characters, etc. And that’s part of my appeal with them too. I think its mainly in the presentation and how well everything is written that does it for me.

BUT some of the comments made here………..You have GOT to be the queen douche if you think that someone playing a game they really love over and over again is a reason for them to forever be in the virginity zone. Oh I’m sorry? Was that comment a joke? So sorry, but I found it tasteless and stupid. You shouldn’t be allowed to write reviews. SEE!? See how MUCH OF A DICK I JUST SOUNDED LIKE!? That was you this whole review.

I think Doom And Destiny is a great game, with some awesome writing, and some great charm with all the parodying within it. Yeah, its not for everyone, but what game is? Some will find the RPG Maker part of it stupid, like this reviewer, or will find them charming. Like I did.

Usually I don’t let reviews get to me so much because…….y’know……..everyone has their own opinions……..But after seeing this………a “IT SUCKS!!! But…..y’know…….YOU might like it” review………It was my turn to be ‘Soapbox Sadie’.

P.S. I find it funny that the Douchebag protagonists were complained about as well. That was sorta a joke as well because they were based off of the writer’s real-life friends. Also if you pay attention to the story, they’re douchebags……….but not as much as everyone else. Seriously.

Sorry you didn’t enjoy this review. For what it’s worth, I’m not very happy with it either. I was still relatively new to writing at this point and I don’t think I properly articulated how much I enjoyed Doom & Destiny. The game is ranked, as of this writing, #69 on my Leaderboard (out of over 360 total XBLIGs I’ve played). So my aim was off here. I do plan on going back and giving this review a second chance, if nothing else to play around with all the since added content.

On other note, the bad translation wasn’t intentional. The developers of Doom & Destiny (whom I’m actually pretty friendly with, it might surprise you to find out) do not speak English as a first language and did have issues doing a proper English translation, as they will openly admit to you.

If you enjoyed Doom & Destiny, I would suggest checking out another XBLIG by them, SpyLeaks, which is a very, very good puzzle game akin to the old school Adventures of Lolo series. Currently ranked as the 16th best XBLIG of all time by me.